Antagonism and Narcissism

 I took a little interest in the narcissistic disorder after coming in head-to-head conflict such a personality. It sparked some interest in how someone could engage in serious callousness and disregard for the lives of other people. Reading the article, "How Antagonism Unfolds as a Trait of Narcissism" brought up some good points about how certain skewed beliefs can lead to antagonism. 

In the study they discuss antagonism as a something narcissists engage in. We all may have met a person having a bad day trying to be an antagonist but few have met someone who engages in this behavior in an attempt to dominate another person. 

Antagonism seems to be a tool and an offshoot of internal angst. If you are comparing yourself to other people all of the time then you are likely to get annoyed by some. 

That is perhaps what a bully does. They chronically size up others, size up themselves, and when someone doesn't fit their stereotype they antagonize. Its something they can't rectify in themselves.

I have learned that you cannot reason with such people as they have all the reasons in the world why their behavior is acceptable. That is where narcissism comes into play. You can't reason and you can't fix it because of the deep seated mental health issues. What your left with is boundaries....and that is pretty much it. 

Escanaba Polo Mallet Donations Helps Organizations

Escanaba Polo Mallet Company donates much of its profits to charitable causes (Right now I think all of the profits are being donated) in an effort to make the world a better place. While we are a polo mallet company we are also good actors in our communities. While mallets might be our passion each mallet represents real resources for others. This is where the last quarter's revenues and profits were spent.

We are working on raising revenues so that we can donate more in the future. 

1. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

2. Hoof and Heart of Southern Michigan

3. Corazon De Vida Orphanages

4. Escanaba Fan Club

Should the U.S. Be Concerned About China's Technology and Manufacturing Push?

China and the U.S. are engaged in a locked wrestling match for global influence. I read the article "China wants to be less reliant on the United States That's a tall order" by Laura He that discusses the 5-Year plan by the Chinese Communist Party that there will be a focus on technology independence and advanced technologies. This opens a problem for the U.S. as we must determine what our approach to the market will be?

There is something called the Made in China 2025 that seeks to massively build their data infrastructure and encourage manufacturing. The low cost strategy that is dependent on American technology is ending. China want's the technology and the manufacturing. 

We do have to concern ourselves because based on a previous analysis "I did China Comes Close to Passing the U.S. in Doctors, Patents and Scientific Discoveries where we are getting close to being matched in scientific discoveries. That means we are not leading in the essential market that influences all the other markets.

That creates a problem because they are serious competitors in science, manufacturing, and if their strategy is successful in technology, we lost dominance in our long term competitive advantages. We must have a strategy to master the market in a way that drags up our GDP (i.e. Digital GDP) through innovation and manufacturing. 

As a nation we can sort of just hope it all goes away but that doesn't seem to be the solution. I have been working on a theoretical strategy developed off the need to rejuvenate entrepreneurial innovation and manufacturing in a way that provides the jobs, green environments, and capitalization on existing strengths of our infrastructure and labor capital. 

In essence, we are discussing at a micro level of information and resources travel among different related businesses to create innovation (It goes a little deeper than that) in a way that builds entire industries that lead to competitive advantages that can influence the U.S. course of direction. It seeks to build the networks of resources, infrastructure, investment, entrepreneurship, finances, etc... into a place where it catalyzes growth. Its a work in progress and not finished. If you want to read more its HERE. 

What Does it Mean to be "American"?

My international friends call me "The American". It conjures the thought of national birth and cultural identity. Foreigners have a slightly different version of what it means to be American. We often think in terms of race and religion while others minimize those differences but raise up personality and cultural attributes within their definitions. Paying attention to their underlining definitions can sometimes lead us to insight. 

A few reflections from others....

First, American is more of a thought than an actual identity. Its the way in which we are trained to question the world around us and to respect individual liberties. We speak up about what we believe and how things should be. In other words, we are known to let our opinions be known. 

Secondly, religion and race are minimized in their definition of an American. My Muslim name doesn't seem to bother my international friends and my children's mixed race never seemed to be any real consideration. Yet in some places in the U.S. it has been an issue for some people as they struggle with understanding their own identity. 

Third, An American is someone who continues to push forward even during the most difficult times. Americans rely more on a moral sense of purpose than many other countries that have long histories that create context of thought.  

Its interesting because to foreigners I seem very American but to Americans I seem very foreign. I guess that puts me in the free thinker zone because I see the subjectivity of the way in which people construct their beliefs from their past and how their cultural identities influence their thoughts. We have not yet found those essential principles that define all Americans and are part of our national identity. Moving to the center of a global supply chain also means we need a more universal and inclusive definition of what it means to be American.

Sunset Jogging

One thing you might want to try is jogging during the sunset. If your next to the beach even better. Today I was bored and decided to go for an evening job, in addition to a morning speed walk, to push myself to get in shape. Its not easy to get rid of a few lbs that seem to creep up when you are not paying attention. 

Queen City Shipwreck Research-Regional Historical Center Offers to Help

Part of the process of developing our expeditions and research we have reached out to a number of different local/regional historical societies to find people with expertise and gauge curation interests. While we haven't found the ship yet we are ensuring we have a process and place that will move from discovery, documentation, permit obtainment, and curation into a museum. Having a regional historical institution take interest in the project helps us to obtain some of the resources we need.

While we all have some experience in diving, and I have experience in research, this hasn't been specifically applied to shipwreck hunting. Part of the goal beyond raising awareness of local adventure tourism I am also creating "edu-u-tainment" videos to help students understand how basic research applies across fields. An additional benefit is highlighting the areas economic opportunities based on its historical past. Yes its a partial attempt to influence the local tourism industry and investment climate by raising awareness through examples. 

Part of the goal of sending out the video and an interest letter was to do the following:

Expertise: Two of the respondents offered some level of expertise. One historical society declined but another said they are interested in the project. 

Resources: While financial resources and grants would be great we were looking for intellectual resources that come from research institutions. We obtained access to a specialized database which will be helpful. 

Curation: If we find artifacts we will need a place to put them. Knowing we have an interested party in seeing any video of discovered we have and an initial willingness for taking ownership of artifacts is helpful. 

MI Permits: If we find the ship and need to obtain permits for artifact extraction we want to ensure that we can provide them with documentation but also an organization that will take ownership of the artifacts. 

Thinking back over the strategy I will say that it worked well as 2 of 3 organizations responded with something beneficial. We might be able to use our initial video and yes the next one should be better, to raise additional awareness. For example, I was provided with a tip that one of the local tribes might be interested in the project. So I will reach out and see what happens.  If you have anything to contribute let me know. muradabel@gmail.com

COVID Cases Still High in Delta County

 The cases in Delta County are still high according to an article in the Escanaba Free Press entitled "Delta County COVID-19 cases surpass 1,000". The new report discusses the cases in Delta County and rising COVID in other U.P. communities. The work helps us think about how using proper distancing and following solid cleaning habits can help avoid the spread. People often believe they are immune because they are isolated but that isn't necessarily the case.

First, we are not isolated and no matter how much we lock down our environment we won't be able to truly stop this virus dead in its tracks. However, that doesn't mean we can't do anything. 

We have a responsibility to wear our masks, be diligent, follow common sense, and help our businesses protect customers. That doesn't always mean closing them down completely if that can be avoided. It could mean changing ordinances to allow for outdoor seating, using cleaning protocol and being safe in interactions. 

Different people will tell you where this level should be. There really isn't a single best way because it is novel virus but we do know enough to have some protections in place. It will be hard to please everyone but the process of collaboration is helpful to creating "buy in".

Thus, We would want to think about working with businesses to develop processes that help enforce the rules in a way that allows them to stay open while encouraging health practices by locals. As in all things in life, it is a balance between protection and exposure as well as risk and reward. Businesses may want to work together to define how they will handle this situation. 

Gossip vs. Rumor Aggression-Who Uses and Who Believes?

Gossip can be helpful and rumors can be destructive. (What did I just say? 👀) That depends on what you mean by gossip and rumors. First, gossip is normal and helps communities understand each other, threats in their environment, coordinate activities and set social expectation. On the flip side, rumors can be intentionally used to harm, harass, shame, or bully other people (especially people who might be different). To better understand the destructive behaviors of intentional rumor spreading we can look at an example and take a more critical view.

What is the Function of Rumors?

 Rumors are often not idle and accidental because they are part of a person's ability to influence others. Rumors are tools used to intimidate others in order to assert one's dominance over others. When used strategically with an intent to manipulate and intimidate others then this is a big problem as it not only indicates the dysfunction of the source(s) but also their aggression towards anther.  

Who Spreads Rumors?

Rumors can be spread by anyone but most people don't have the inner psychological distortion that would push them to veer far from the truth. Childhood patterns get repeated throughout life until something stops it. Certainly not liking someone and stating it is one thing but making up information is a sign of social manipulation. Those high on the narcissist spectrum, "dark personalities", use rumors to define and influence their environments in a negative way . 

Who are the Targets?

The targets are typically people they want to control, damage, harass or intimidate. Sometimes it is a general coordinated effort to cover previous bad behavior and future intended bad behavior. With some personalities these self-oriented destructive ways will continue on and on as long as they are not provided with the insight to look within themselves as to why such behavior seems so simple. 

Lets be clear about this. It isn't strength that drives them (other then strength of numbers and misinformation). It is perceived difference and weakness that allowed for the creation of a community target. Sometimes politeness and passivity are confusing. I'm the type of person who wants the best for people but when it comes to protecting children and protecting people's rights of myself, my children, and other people in this country (White, Black or Other) I have not veered and am unlikely to do so in the future.

There is little accountability for people who seek to damage others through rumors. While we may warn them that such behaviors are inappropriate the damage has already been done. You know this when people sort of are polite but don't want to get to know you and opportunities dry in certain circles because they have accepted the rumors based in surface differences. While this is often in-group and out-group dynamics based on ignorance....it doesn't stop it from happening. 

We know we have a problem with hate groups and extremism. Rumors are tools used to harass others and often are a cover to deflect accountability for other bad behavior. When perpetrators are not held accountable our system is saying that the law is designed for one type of person and is applied disparately. Overall morality and justice must be part of the system if we want to build a great nation where institutions maintain the trust of Americans.

In this case the people involved should have at a minimum a psyche evaluation to ensure they are not a continued risk to the community and are ready and willing to deal with the deep dysfunction that causes allows for such behavior to be all too common. Our great country is at risk of creating wide and deep splits/divisions between different parties and peoples. It is up to our leaders to start thinking beyond themselves and into what these institutions stand for and where we want to go to be a great nation. Time is ticking! 

Investing in Industry-University Research for National Innovation

 As a nation we should think about research and innovation as a process of connecting resources to create new value driven products and resources. As a nation we spend a lot of money on a lot of different things that don't seem to make a big difference in our lives or our capacity as a nation to compete. One potential pathway to development is the creation of industry-university research opportunities. While this has been going on for some time I think we have made this somewhat more difficult because of regulations and red tape. 

Companies regularly invest in research but what would be helpful is if there were some incentives for investing in solving those problems that impact the entire industry. For example, lets say that developing a better process to make paper leads to less pollution, more jobs, and a more competitive American paper manufacturing industry. 

Sure...we can use tariffs and restrictions to create advantages but we might do well to include the ability to foster research through industry adaptation that makes them market leaders instead of market followers. Being a market leader means more wealth, jobs, and influence on world markets for the U.S. and these industries. 

That would mean we might need better mechanisms and perhaps some incentives for companies that invest into a pool of funds used to solve bigger problems. That investment entity might focus only on problems as they relate to a specific industry so as to help to solve problems that are holding American industries back. 

Just thinking about the possibilities here but we might have some type of non-profit research institutions for each of the major industries we are trying to enhance as a nation. Here is some additional information on academic-industry research. I was thinking more on the lines of a fund intermediary that can coordinate the direction of research through funding initiatives.

Here is something on academic-industry research. 

Careers in Clinical Research: Obstacles and Opportunities

Dark Money in the Michigan Supreme Court?

 I like to keep up on the political news and find out what is going on around the state. I read an article entitled "How dark money is permeating Michigan’s Supreme Court race" by  Lauren Gibbons. The article is well written and provides some political fairness when discussing the topic. What I like most is that she is able to cover the topic from a neutral standpoint of how money influence politics and even our legal environment. Reporting and discussing these issues helps us stay focused on the meaning and purpose of justice beyond its political ends. 

It should be remembered that we have two major parties within this country and that each of them has their own deep philosophical and social roots. It means that there are people and parties all connected together. Deep divisions between these two parties causes some of our current problems. The way in which people now see their world seems radically different even though both parties essentially want similar things when it comes to their country's health.

The court is where we want as much neutrality as possible. The media have a responsibility to discuss topics fairly and objectively to highlight areas needed for improvement. While "dark money" may or may not be an actual problem...discussing it publicly helps us think about how money and influence do flow through the system. Highlighting and being transparent ensures that the money doesn't become a problem down the road if it isn't a problem yet.

Our legal system is an important institution that is central to the basic trust in society and the government itself. We do know we have people protesting and some are questioning the logic of the system and its fairness to some members of society. Good or bad, right or wrong, Right or Left, these discussions are helpful to ensure that punishments fit the crime and are based in sound reason and moral purpose. We still associate with that higher order when we use the Supreme Court phrase, "Sat Cito Si Recte" which means "Soon enough if done rightly."

That motto gives an indication that true justice comes from taking the time and energy to understand a situation before making rulings and judgements. The end result is truer Justice which comes from deep reflection, insight, and awareness of truth as it relates to people and institutions. Judge too quickly and you become part of the problem...judge too far out and justice isn't served. Having an objective, non-partisan media, helps our court system fulfill a higher duty of disseminating "justice" in society.